標籤: slumping

With the Miami Heat’s win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday, the team will be looking to pick up some wins in the home stretch of the season, although Nikola Jovic looks to be absent for the foreseeable future. As Heat young forward Jovic has been working to turn his season around, a back injury has been another setback in a disappointing year.

Jovic has missed the last four games of the season with what is being called “low back injury management,” after already being listed for Tuesday’s home game against the Brooklyn Nets as he will miss more time. The 22-year-old will let you know how he feels.

According to The Miami Herald, Jovic said, “My back doesn’t feel good.” “The scans show I’ve got some swelling, and one of my veins doesn’t look right right now.”

The 2022 first-round pick will miss some early season time due to a back injury, but he downplayed that as a direct correlation.

“I was worried, but I don’t think it’s the same thing,” Jovic said. “The way my back is structured, I just have to manage it in the way I prepare for things and the way I prepare for games, practices and everything. I have to make sure it’s always ready for any type of intensity that I put it under.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic now dealing with year-ending back injury

While Jovic received a $62.4 million contract extension with the Heat that ran for four years, the team saw enough year-to-year improvement in the player to warrant the deal.

However, this season has been a reality check, as he has averaged 7.5 points while shooting 37 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from deep in 17.6 minutes per game, the lowest of his career since his rookie season.

“I felt like it was that moment where I hadn’t played very much, and even though I hadn’t played it was still getting worse,” Jovic said. “I just had to stop because when it bothers you outside of basketball and starts bothering you doing regular things in life, I feel like the decision has come to, I can’t do it anymore.”

It remains to be seen how much time Jovic misses with the Heat at 32-29, leaving them in eighth place in the East ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Nets.